


Sword and Shield

by Fanofeverything101



Category: Chronicles of Narnia - All Media Types
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:01:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24118423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fanofeverything101/pseuds/Fanofeverything101
Summary: After being rescued from the White Witch, Edmund reunites with his siblings and works on fixing his relationship with them, specifically Peter. *Missing scenes in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe*
Comments: 4
Kudos: 31





	1. Rescued

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Narnian fandom. I have always loved this series, it was part of my childhood. First with the BBC series, then with the new Disney movies and then with the books. I know, I did it backwards but I was kinda too young to read them at that point, but I did eventually read them. My favourite has always been The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, especially the relationship between Peter and Edmund and always wanted to write a fanfic about it and now that I have fanfiction, I decided I would. Story title was kind of inspired by this song that I’ve had stuck in my head, Meet Me on the Battlefield by Svrcina. There’s a line in that song that goes ‘I will be your sword and shield’ and it made me think of the relationship between Peter and Edmund because they both defend each other and fight for each other. Hope you all like it!

Peter tried to resist the urge to look around Aslan’s camp again since it had only been about five minutes since the last time he did, but couldn’t help it. It had felt like days, though it was actually about two hours, since Oreius, the centaur and Aslan’s general, and other soldiers went to rescue Edmund and there was still no sign of them. How far away was the Witch? Would the wolf actually head to her? What if the Witch killed them or turned them to stone before they could rescue his Edmund? What if she had already killed his little brother?

“Peter?” The oldest Pevensie turned around to look at Lucy, and found not only her looking at him, but Susan as well. They had finishing eating their dinner a while ago but were still sitting at the table, talking. Well, Susan and Lucy had been talking, Peter had tuned out of the conversation not long after they were done as he started getting more and more worried about Edmund than he already was.

“Yes Lu?” Peter asked, turning his body to completely face her.

“They will rescue Edmund, won’t they?” Lucy wondered, sounding as terrified as Peter felt. Glancing at Susan overtop of his youngest sister’s head, he saw the same fear, though it was a little more hidden, in her eyes.

“Of course they will. He’ll be here with us again before you know it.” Peter assured her with a large smile as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Then, he looked up and realized that the sun had already set. He stood up and said, “Come on, it’s high time we were all in bed.”

He held out his hand and helped Lucy up to her feet. Susan also got up and they started making their way to the tents that had been set aside for them. He wished his sisters a good night and watched them go into their own tent before he entered his. For a tent, it was very comfortable. There were several blankets and pillows in a pile on the ground for him to use on his hammock, there was a small table with a bowl and a pitcher of water and towels. There were a few candles for him to use if needed and a change of clothes but he didn’t really care about that. He was too focused on the second hammock on the other side of the tent.

Ever since Peter realized that Edmund left, and learned that he betrayed them, the fear of never seeing his little brother, of never making things right between them, threatened to overwhelm him. Now, seeing the empty hammock made it worse. He wanted to stay up and wait for the rescue party to return, but as he settled himself on his own hammock, the exhaustion from walking miles to the Stone Table finally forced him to close his eyes and fall asleep.

**NARNIA**

Edmund instinctively turned his head away as the Witch’s dwarf, Ginarrbrik, pressed the edge of his dagger against his neck. He could feel it digging into his skin but it hadn’t cut him, yet. Despite knowing his death was coming, having realized it around the same time he realized the Witch had sent her wolves to kill Peter, Susan, and Lucy and revealed her true colours, he was terrified. His heart was pounding in his chest and he was struggling to breathe, especially with the gag so tight. And it didn’t help that the dwarf seemed to be enjoying tormenting him and was dragging this out a lot longer than Edmund would have liked. If he was going to die, he’d prefer it be quick.

Suddenly, the ground seemed to shake under him. At first, he thought it was just him, reacting to the fear of getting his throat slashed open, but then he felt the edge of the dagger start to pull away from his neck. Then, the dwarf pulled away from him completely, allowing him to turn his head and see what was going on. What he saw both confused him and filled him with a sense of hope.

There was a strange creature in front of him, it was half man and half a horse, a centaur. The lower part of his body was that of a black or dark brown horse but from the waist up, he was a man wearing red and silver armour and was pointing a sword right into Ginarrbrik’s face. The dwarf dropped the dagger but made no other movement. That was all Edmund could see before his attention was drawn to a faun that had come up to him on his other side with a dagger of his own. Without a word, he quickly cut through the ropes tying him to the trunk of the tree, grabbed his arm, and pulled him to his feet and away from the dwarf and centaur.

“It’s alright Son of Adam. We are with Aslan. We are here to take you to him and your family.” The faun said with a calm and soothing voice as he cut the ropes still binding Edmund’s wrists before taking off the gag, allowing him to finally breathe properly. The faun then told him, “We need to go.”

Taking a hold on his arm, though much more gently than he had earlier, the faun turned him around and led him to the centaur who was already walking towards them. The centaur then lowered himself a little and the faun put his hands under Edmund’s arms and with strength that the human didn’t realize the faun had, he lifted him up and placed him on the centaur’s back.

“Hold on tight Son of Adam.” The centaur ordered him, and Edmund immediately wrapped his arms around the creature’s waist as tight as he could as the centaur took off galloping in the direction he had come from.

The ride was extremely uncomfortable. After walking for miles with his hands tied behind his back and getting whipped on the back of his legs, then getting tied to a tree and being stuck there unable to move had made every muscle in his body ache and throb. Moving around made it worse, and all the armour the centaur didn’t help either. Right now though, it was his stomach that making the whole thing horrible. He hadn’t eaten anything since he was at the Beavers’, he was sure it was empty by now, but he still felt like he was about throw up. He hoped that they were close to their destination, just so everything could stop moving and he could actually process what was happening. And it was all of that that was keeping Edmund from falling asleep. He was so exhausted.

“Oreius, he isn’t looking well.” Edmund heard the faun that cut him free say through his panting as he ran alongside them. Within seconds of that, the centaur slowed to a stop and the faun helped him down to the ground, keeping him steady when he almost lost his balance. Now that everything had stopped moving, he could finally try to figure out what was going on.

Edmund could see that along with the centaur and the faun, there was another faun, two other creatures but he had no idea what they were, and a large cat of some kind. He couldn’t see it very well in the dark. He tried to focus on them, to figure out who or what they were, they were his rescuers and deserved that much, but he didn’t know. Lucy was the one who read all the fantasy books, not him. All he could tell for sure, was that except for the cat, they were all wearing armour.

“We can’t stay for long. The Witch might have sent someone after us.” The centaur, Oreius, told them.

“Here Son of Adam, drink some wine, it will settle your nerves.” The faun who had helped him said as he offered Edmund a flask.

“Thank you.” Edmund replied with a shaky voice as he took it. Normally he would’ve raised his eyebrows at the offer of wine, he was only ten, but he was so hungry and thirsty that he didn’t care. He took a few sips of the wine before he couldn’t take the taste anymore and he handed it back.

“Come along, we need to keep moving.” Oreius said when he saw the exchange. Edmund started making his way back to the centaur when his legs finally became unable to hold him up. He started falling to the ground but before he hit it, a pair of strong arms caught him.

“Is he alright?” Edmund heard a voice he didn’t recognize ask while another different voice asked, “Is he hurt?”

That was the last thing he heard before everything turned black and he finally passed out.

**NARNIA**

The feeling of something cold and wet yanked Edmund back to awareness. He opened his eyes and found a woman covered in leaves leaning over him. With a gasp, he tried to sit up and get away, but she put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down whispering, “It’s alright Son of Adam. You’re safe. You are in Aslan’s camp.”

At the mention of Aslan, Edmund relaxed enough to lie back down but he still watched the woman warily. She then brought up her hand which was holding a small cloth and began to press it against his split lip. It was wet and cold, that must’ve been what woke him up. He waited until she seemed to be finished cleaning the small cut before he asked, “Where’s my brother, and sisters.”

“They are still asleep. The sun hasn’t risen yet. You were brought in only half an hour ago.” The woman told him as she put the cloth down and handed him a cup. Edmund pushed himself up into a sitting position, this time with the woman’s help, and took the cup of what appeared to be water downed it in two gulps. He was so thirsty, and hungry.

“Thanks.” Edmund said as he handed the now empty cup back to the lady. It was then he noticed his arms.

The sleeves of his shirt had been rolled up to his elbows and there were white bandages around his wrists. With the sleeves pulled up, he could now see the small bruises and scrapes that he had gotten from constantly slipping and falling on the ground. It made him wonder how many other scrapes, cuts, and bruises he had. He imagined there was a lot. It made him feel worse than he already did.

The sound of fabric rustling and hooves hitting the ground drew Edmund’s attention the tent’s ‘door’ and he saw the centaur from earlier, Oreius, enter the tent.

“It’s good to see you awake Son of Adam.” Oreius said when he saw that Edmund was up. Without waiting for a response, he added, “Aslan wants to see you.”

A feeling of dread and fear began to make its way through Edmund’s body upon hearing that. Aslan, the King of Narnia, the Lion, one of the many people he betrayed, wanted to talk to him. This wouldn’t end well. But, he wasn’t about to disobey an order from Aslan. That would just make things worse, if that was at all possible. So he pushed him up to his feet, his legs shaking slightly under him, and followed the centaur out of the tent.

The first thing he saw, was the Lion standing just a few feet away, clearly waiting for him. Edmund had never seen a lion before, but it was bigger than he thought lions were. It was big enough that he was sure he could ride on him, not that he’d dare try something like that. He might get eaten or something. Slowly, he looked up and into the Lion’s eyes and immediately lowered his head. He felt like the Lion’s gaze was going right through him, that he could see everything thought, every emotion, every action he had done in his entire life and it terrified him.

“Welcome Edmund, Son of Adam.” Aslan’s soft yet powerful voice said. Edmund didn’t say or do anything. What did one do when there was a king who also happened to be a lion talking to you?

“There is no need to be frightened, Edmund. You are safe here.” Aslan assured him. He sounded so sincere that Edmund hesitantly lifted his head again.

Aslan’s eyes were warm and filled with reassurance, compassion, and if he didn’t know any better, he’d say there was love in there too. But that couldn’t be right. Why would Aslan love him, someone he didn’t even know and had betrayed him? It made the guilt he felt deep in his stomach worse.

“Come, walk with me.” Aslan told him and started walking away from the tent. Edmund looked over at Oreius, silently asking if it was safe and okay for him to go. Oreius gave him a single nod and Edmund quickly caught up to the Lion then slowed his stride to walk beside him, towards a hill and away from all the other tents.


	2. Reunited

Peter was a little surprised when he woke up and found that it was already morning. He didn’t think he’d sleep much, if at all, during the night. He had been so worried about Edmund that he didn’t think he’d be able to sleep at all. And he had wanted to be awake when the rescue party came back so he could see his brother as soon as possible. He had to know if he was alright. Wanting to know if they had come back sometime during the night, Peter got off his hammock and made his way out of the tent.

He only had walk about 10, 15 feet before he spotted Oreius heading towards the other end of the camp. His heart started racing in his chest. If Oreius was back, then that meant that the rest of rescue party should be back. And if they were back, then, Edmund should be at the camp too. But, where was he? And why wasn’t he or his sisters told that they were back?

The centaur slowed to stop when he saw that Peter was there and staring at him. Instead of saying anything though, Oreius just turned his head to look up at something behind him. Peter took a another few steps closer before looking up to see what Oreius was looking at and felt relief flood through his body. There, half-way up the hill on a large rock, stood his baby brother in front of Aslan. He was alive, and was safe.

The sound of small footsteps and the tent flap opening pulled Peter’s attention to Susan and Lucy’s tent, just in time to see his sisters exiting. Susan smiled at him but she must’ve seen something on his face because she started to frown, then looked to see what he had been staring at. Lucy did the same, but unlike her oldest brother and sister, she darted forward and cried out, “Edmund!”

Peter immediately bent down and caught his youngest sister in his arm and said, “No Lucy. He’s talking with Aslan right now, we shouldn’t interrupt them.”

Lucy looked a bit upset but nodded and stayed put. As Peter turned to look back up at his brother and the Lion, he saw that it was too late. They were both now looking down at them. They must’ve heard Lucy’s shout. He then watched as Edmund moved his head to face Aslan again and when he nodded, the black-haired boy started to climb down the hill towards them. Aslan stared at Peter for another few seconds before he jumped off the rock and followed after Edmund.

Edmund slowed his stride as he got closer to his siblings. The closer he got, the more Peter began to feel angry. He had been so worried about Edmund getting hurt or even killed that he didn’t even have time to realize how furious he was that Edmund was so stupid, and was apparently bitter and selfish enough to betray them like he had. But once Edmund was only a few yards away, Peter could see the yellowing bruise on Edmund’s cheek, the split lip, and the cut by his eyebrow. That, along with the way he kept his head lowered as though scared and/or ashamed broke Peter’s heart. What had the Witch done to him? He no longer knew what to think or feel. 

Edmund stopped once he was standing in front of his brother and sisters and kept his head lowered, apparently not knowing what to do, neither did the others. Once Aslan had caught up to youngest Son of Adam, he said to the other three, “What’s done is done. There is no need to speak to Edmund about what had passed.”

With that, Aslan walked away from the humans. Edmund finally raised his head more to clearly see them, his eyes ended up on Peter though, he lowered his head again and mumbled, “Hello.”

Peter remained where he stood, as did Susan, but Lucy smiled brightly and rushed forward to hug her older brother. Edmund tensed for a second, clearly not expecting the embrace, but to everyone’s surprised, he returned it instead of just pushing her away like he always did. Susan then smiled herself and walked over to her younger brother. Lucy then pulled away so that their sister could also hug Edmund which again, he returned whole-heartedly.

“Are you alright?” Susan asked when she pulled away so she could look at his face.

“I’m a little tired.” Edmund replied with a small smile. That didn’t surprise Peter. The younger boy looked exhausted.

“Get some sleep.” Peter told him, nodding to his tent. Edmund stared at him then lowered his head once again and started to walk towards the tent that his older brother gestured to. As he walked past him, another stab of guilt hit Peter in his stomach. Yes he was still upset with his brother, but did he have to sound that cold?

“And Edmund?” Peter called out, turning around to face him. Edmund turned back to him, a hopeful expression on his face. With a smile, the oldest Pevensie said, “Try not to wander off.”

Edmund gave him a mischievous smirk, one that Peter hadn’t seen in a long time, then continued on his way into the tent.

“Peter?” The blonde looked over at Lucy when he heard her quiet voice, “Shouldn’t we stay with him?”

Peter stared at her, seeing the worry in her eyes. Glancing up at Susan, he saw the same worry in her eyes as well. After thinking for a moment, he said, “I go make sure that he’s okay. You two should go get some breakfast.”

Lucy seemed like she wanted to argue, but Susan put her hand on her shoulder and gently ushered towards the tent where food was being served. Peter watched them leave before going back to his tent.

He found Edmund not on the hammock, but on the pile of pillows beside it. From the looks of it, he was already asleep. The sight made him chuckle. Seeing that Edmund was still wearing his shoes though, he got down on his knees and started to take them off so his brother would be able to sleep more comfortably. It was then that he saw them. Red welts on his legs as though he had stuck with a whip or something like it.

Edmund moaned and turned his head in Peter’s direction, not fully asleep but not really awake either. Peter placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and said, “Shh Edmund, it’s alright. It’s just me, go back to sleep.”

For the first time in months, Edmund did what he was told. Peter waited until his eyes were fully closed and his breathing seemed to even out before he started to exam his brother more closely. He saw the along with the welts, his knees were bruised and scrapped but had been cleaned. Someone in the camp must have done that. He doubted that the Witch would’ve cared about his injuries. And he was now noticing bandages around Edmund’s wrists peaking out from under his sleeves.

Not willing to risk Edmund waking up again when he clearly needed the rest, Peter grabbed a blanket and laid it over his brother. Then he settled down beside him and got comfortable and kept a close eye on him. He would not be letting Edmund out of his sight for a while, if ever again.

**NARNIA**

Peter wasn’t exactly sure how long he had been sitting beside his brother’s sleeping figure. It felt like hours yet minutes at the same time. Surprisingly, he wasn’t that bored as one would assume. He felt quite content to be by Edmund’s side, making sure that he was safe, reassuring himself that he was there, that this all wasn’t a dream. It was nearing lunchtime when something changed. So far, Edmund had been sleeping peacefully, but now he was starting to mumble and toss and turn on the pillows.

“Ed?” Peter called out. When his brother didn’t respond, instead, turning onto his side which let the older sibling see the terrified expression on his face, he grabbed Edmund’s shoulder and started shaking it, “Edmund, wake up.”

Edmund shot up with a strangled gasp and pulled away from Peter. The blonde let him, knowing that he just needed a few seconds to realize whatever he was dreaming of wasn’t real, then said, “Easy Ed, it’s alright. It was just a dream, you’re safe now. You’re in Aslan’s camp.”

Edmund looked around the tent, obviously trying to see if this was indeed real or not. He then looked over at Peter, took a few deep breaths and pushed the blanket off of him. As Peter watched Edmund try to get his bearing, he wondered what he should do. A part of him wanted to pull him into a hug and tell him again that he was safe, but Edmund hated being touched. He didn’t want to make him feel more uncomfortable than he already was. So he waited for Edmund to make the first move.

“Wasn’t just a dream.” Edmund mumbled after a minute, wiping his eyes with his hands. Peter tensed when he heard that. He didn’t actually expect him to admit that. If anything, he expected Edmund to either stay quiet or tell him to mind his own business.

“Are you alright?” Peter asked once the silence started to become unbearable.

“I’m fine.” Edmund answered quietly, looking down at the ground. Peter wished his little brother would’ve said more, would’ve said something, anything to fill this silent space between them, because he had no idea what to do, or say.

“You’re still really mad at me, aren’t you?” Peter’s head shot up at the sound of his brother’s voice to find that Edmund still had his head lowered but his brown eyes were staring in his direction.

“A little, but I don’t blame you.” Peter admitted. That got Edmund to lift his head up, revealing a shocked expression.

“You don’t?” Edmund questioned, not appearing to believe him which didn’t really surprise Peter. Over the last several months, when Edmund’s behaviour had started getting worse, the oldest had no qualms with giving the youngest son the blame when he deserved it.

“No.” Peter confirmed. Seeing that Edmund still looked stunned and confused, he added, “I have been really hard on you lately. Far more than I should have. I just got mad instead of talking to you, instead of trying to be there for you.”

“I didn’t make it easy for you.” Edmund admitted in a quiet tone, looking down at the ground, “And I made my own choices.”

“I still should’ve been there for you. You’re my brother.” Peter insisted. He then reached over to place a comforting hand on Edmund’s back, but pulled it back when the boy flinched.

“What’s wrong?” The blonde asked worriedly. He had seen some of his brother’s injuries, but he had no doubt that there were more that weren’t visible.

“Nothing.” Edmund replied, still keeping his head lowered and eyes on the ground.

“Edmund, what did she,”

“Nothing.” The black-haired boy quickly cut him off with a harsh tone, finally looking up at him. When he saw the expression on Peter’s face, he took a breath to calm himself and said, “I, I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay.” Peter dropped it. He then stood up and gestured to the clothes that had been brought to the tent when they arrived the day before that were for Edmund, “There are some clothes here, if you want to get changed. And lunch should be served soon, if you’re hungry.”

“Food sounds amazing.” Edmund responded, a wistful smile on his face as he stood up. As he made his way over to where the clothes were, he stopped and looked back at Peter.

“I’ll just be outside.” Peter quickly got the unspoken hint and walked outside the tent. He didn’t go that far though, remaining within five feet of the opening, just in case Edmund needed him for something.

He had only been waiting a minute when he saw Susan and Lucy walking towards him. As they reached him, Susan asked, “Where’s Ed?”

“He’s just getting changed.” Peter answered. Seconds later, Edmund emerged from the tent and walked straight to them.

“Come along Edmund, you are going to love lunch. They serve the best food here.” Lucy told him with a big smile as she grabbed Edmund’s hand and pulled him along. Susan and Peter both smiled at the sight and followed after them but at a distance so they could talk without the younger two hearing them.

“How is he?” Susan asked seriously.

“In denial, I think. He doesn’t want to talk about it.” Peter replied, watching his brother with a close eye for any sign that something was wrong.

“I don’t blame him.” Susan told him. Peter nodded in agreement. She then looked over at him and seeing the worried expression still on his face, she slid her arm around his and said, “Come on, let’s eat. You’ll both feel better when your stomachs aren’t empty.”


	3. Renounced

“Jadis, the Queen of Narnia, Empress of the Lone Islands!” Peter heard a loud voice over the grumbling of the Narnians who were with Aslan. The minute that Mr. Beaver told them that the Witch was on her way to them, he and Edmund immediately dismounted and started running towards the pavilion with Susan and Lucy. He continued running until he finally reached the crowd, immediately followed by Edmund, Lucy and Susan.

Peter didn’t know what he expected the Witch to look like. He only had his imagination to go and from the wicked things that he was told she had done, and the fact that she was called the White Witch, he was expecting her to be an old hag who wore all white or something like that. She was not like that at all though, except for her white dress. She was terrifyingly beautiful. He couldn’t deny that, no one could. She had blonde hair that was pulled back with icicles sticking out as though that was her crown, her skin was extremely pale, her complexion perfect and she held her head with the all the authority a queen would have. Her eyes though were cold and screamed _danger_ to him. She looked more terrifying than the creatures that were with her.

As she was bought closer to Aslan, who stood right by the edge of the small hill that his tent was on, Peter glanced at Edmund and though he couldn’t see his younger brother’s face, he could tell from his stance that he was scared to death. He didn’t blame him, he was scared too. He didn’t know why the Witch would demand a meeting with the real ruler of Narnia, but it seemed like too much of a coincidence that she waited until Edmund was rescued before she came.

Soon, her minions lowered the black chair that she was sitting on to the ground and she stood up, showing her amazing height. Peter wasn’t sure if he had ever seen someone so tall. With confidence and without fear, she walked towards Aslan, turning her head to stare straight at the dark-haired young man. Peter wanted to move to stand in front of him, not wanting the Witch who kidnapped and hurt his little brother to even look at him, but he couldn’t move. He was frozen in place.

“You have a traitor in your midst, Aslan.” The Witch said once she stood about ten feet away from the Lion. Immediately the entire crowds started mumbling and Peter looked over at Edmund, realizing that she was talking about his brother. Already, Edmund had bowed his head in shame and fear.

“His offense, was not against you.” Aslan replied, his voice calm and soothing which helped calm Peter as well.

“Have you forgotten the laws upon which Narnia was built?” The Witch questioned, almost sounding like she was talking to a child.

“Do not cite the Deep Magic to me, Witch.” Aslan growled, clearly unimpressed with her attitude before he added, “I was there when it was written.”

“Then you’ll remember well that every traitor belongs to me. His blood is my property.” The second the words _‘belongs to me’_ left her mouth, Peter gripped the hilt of his sword and pulled it out of its sheath.

“Try and take him then.” Peter told her, pointing his sword at her as he took a few steps forward in front of his siblings, specifically Edmund. He had just got him back. If she seriously thought that he was just going to let her take him, especially after what she had done to him, she was insane.

“Do you really think that mere force will deny me my right, little king?” She told him, not at all afraid of him. Her confident and strong voice made Peter feel like a child that was just insulted. Slowly, he lowered his sword, not really sure what to do now. He did know though that there was no way she was getting his littler brother without a fight and he doubted that Aslan would allow her to do that.

“Aslan knows that unless I have blood, as the law demands, all of Narnia will be overturned and perish in fire and water. That boy,” The Witch turned and pointed her finger at Edmund, staring straight at him, “will die on the Stone Table, as is tradition.”

Edmund shrunk in on himself with every word that left her mouth while the entire crowd started mumbling, trying to understand her words and wondering what Aslan was going to do. Peter wanted to grab Edmund and run away with him and the girls, but he knew that he couldn’t do that. They wouldn’t get that far and from the look on Edmund’s face, he wasn’t sure he’d actually come. He looked, defeated, like he already knew what was going to happen and accepted it. As though he thought he truly deserved the fate that the Witch wanted to give him.

“You dare not refuse me.” The Witch then said, looking back over at Aslan as she lowered her arm. Peter also turned back to Aslan, wondering what the lion’s response would be. He wouldn’t really let her take Edmund, would he? Then again, Aslan had warned them that rescuing Edmund would be harder than they thought. Was this what he was talking about?

“Enough.” Aslan finally spoke, causing the crowd to grow quiet again. Speaking solely to the Witch, he said, “I shall talk with you alone.”

The Witch hesitated ever so slightly, then walked up the small hill and followed Aslan into his tent. For a minute, everything was quiet, but then the mumbling started again. Peter ignored it though, his entire focus on Edmund. He reached out to put his free hand on his shoulder but immediately pulled it back when Edmund flinched, just like he had that morning. Peter then put his sword that he still held in his right hand back in its sheath and watched the opening of the tent, waiting for Aslan and the Witch to come back out.

After a few minutes, it became clear that they would all be waiting for a while. Everyone started to sit down on the ground, including all four of the Pevensies. Lucy then reached out to comfort Edmund, but he pulled away from her as well. She looked over at Peter, silently asking what they should do, but Peter just shook his head. They couldn’t comfort their brother right now, not with his life hanging in the balance the way it was.

As they continued to wait, Susan started playing with her bow string, trying to distract herself. Lucy put her head in her hand, looking extremely bored. Edmund was grabbing the grass in the ground in front of him, pulling it out and ripping it to pieces, needing to do something to keep himself from losing his mind. Peter however did nothing. He sat silently and still, his eyes on Edmund. The younger boy looked as though he was on the edge of a panic attack and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

When he finally was able to tear his gaze away from his brother, he saw the tent opening, finally. He got to his feet, as did everyone else when they also noticed that something was happening. The Witch walked out first, followed closely by Aslan. Like before, the evil queen stared straight at Edmund, but walked past him and the rest of the Pevensies without a word. All four of them then turned their gazes back to Aslan and found that he was also staring at Edmund. After a few seconds, the majestic lion turned to address the crowd.

“She has renounced her claim on the Son of Adam’s blood.” Everyone immediately began cheering when they heard Aslan’s voice. Peter felt like he was going to collapse with relief and as he looked over at Edmund, he grabbed his arm, the smile on his face growing when he saw that Ed was also smiling in relief. Susan came up behind their younger brother and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close to her, also smiling but the sound of the Witch’s voice had everyone turning back to face her.

“How do I know your promise will be kept?” She asked Aslan, standing right by the chair that she was sitting on when she arrived.

Aslan apparently didn’t like that his word was being questioned and let out a loud roar that had Peter shaking even though it wasn’t directed at him. The Witch immediately sat down in the chair and everyone let out a laugh at her reaction. Her vile-looking minions then lifted her up and carried her out of the camp.

Peter was glad to see her gone and turned his complete attention back to his younger siblings, just in time to see Lucy hug Edmund, who not only returned the embrace, but also lifted her up. As he did that, Peter walked over to Susan and hugged her, watching the two youngest siblings with a wide smile that couldn’t be contained. Deep down he knew that this wasn’t over, not until they defeated the White Witch for good, but for now, they were all together and Edmund was safe.

**NARNIA**

After they finished eating their supper, later in the day, Edmund found himself alone in the tent he shared with Peter. He wasn’t exactly sure how he did it since no one, especially his siblings seemed to want him out of sight, but he was glad he did. He needed some time alone, to process everything that had happened earlier that day. He didn’t have time to do that after the Witch left. Not with so many people around.

Edmund never expected that the Witch would actually come into Aslan’s camp just to try and take him back. He imagined that she would be upset that she longer had a hostage anymore, but for her to actually come in and demand that he be returned to her, he couldn’t imagine that. Then again, he had no idea that as a traitor, he automatically belonged to her. He had never heard of such a thing, and the fact that she almost did succeed in taking him, filled him with a terror that he hadn’t felt before.

He also didn’t expect Peter to actually pull out his sword and threaten her. He always knew that his brother was brave, braver than he could ever be, but he didn’t think that he would be that brave for him. After all, he betrayed him and their sisters and all of Narnia. Edmund knew he deserved to be given to the Witch for what that. He would’ve thought that Peter did too. The fact that he didn’t, the fact that he defended him was shocking. He couldn’t remember the last time Peter defended him.

Luckily, Aslan was somehow able to talk the Witch out of taking him back. Not just because he didn’t want to die, but also because he didn’t want Peter to get himself killed for trying to stop her. He would rather go with the Witch and die than have his big brother die for him. No matter how many times they fought, not matter how much he got annoyed with Peter acting like their father, no matter how much he felt like Peter was the perfect golden boy that would always be better than him no matter what he did, he would never want him to die for him. He didn’t deserve that. He didn’t deserve any of his siblings love or forgiveness, or Aslan’s either.

“Edmund? Are you alright?” The younger brother looked over to his right to find Peter coming into the tent, looked very worried. It was only then that Edmund realized he was trying to keep from crying.

Edmund stared at him for almost a full minute in silence before he asked, “Would, would you have really tried to stop her, from taking me?”

“Of course I would have.” Peter answered without any hesitation, coming over to him when he saw his brother’s eyes turning red with unshed tears.

“She would have killed you, or worse.” Edmund mumbled, looking down at the grass, much like he had done when they were waiting for Aslan and the Witch to finish talking.

An arm wrapped around his shoulders, Peter’s arm, and as he pulled him close, he said, “You’re my brother Ed. I know I haven’t been doing a great job of it lately, but I’ll always protect you.”

That did it. That broke down any walls he had left. Tears started to run down his cheeks, causing Edmund to bury his face into his brother’s shoulder. When he did that, Peter tightened his hold on him and lifted his free hand to cradle the back of Edmund’s head. Normally the young Pevensie son didn’t like being hugged, unlike his siblings. He didn’t know why, but it just made him feel uncomfortable. Right now though, he welcomed it, he needed it. It made him feel safe.

“I didn’t know.” Edmund said through his sobs.

“Didn’t know what?” Peter asked gently, only barely making out what the younger Pevensie had said.

“That what I did, would hurt Narnia.” Edmund replied, looking up at him with tears still rolling down his cheeks and explained, “What she said about Narnia being destroyed if she didn’t, kill me.”

“I know you didn’t Edmund, neither did I. No one did, besides Aslan.” Peter said, rubbing Edmund’s arm with the hand that was still around him, “It doesn’t matter though. He dealt with that. You’re safe.”

“What do you think Aslan promised her, to get her to let me go?” Edmund wondered, wiping the remaining tears from his cheeks.

Still holding his brother, though not as tightly as before, Peter shrugged and said, “I don’t know. I’m really glad he did though.”

Edmund didn’t respond to that. He was grateful too whatever Aslan did to save him, but his guilt still weighed heavily on him. Whatever the deal was made, he didn’t deserve it, he knew that. While he may not have truly known what he was doing when he told the Witch about Mr. Tumnus and his siblings, or when he went to her and told her where his siblings were, he knew enough. He knew he was betraying his family and he will never forgive himself for that, even if they did.

A yawn broke through Edmund’s mouth and Peter said, “We should get some sleep. We’re going to need it for tomorrow.”

Nodding, Edmund got to his feet and walked over to his hammock. He kicked off his shoes and climbed into it before pulling his blanket over him. As he got settled, he looked over at Peter and saw that he was doing the same. He waited until he saw that he was settled before he said, “Pete?”

The blonde snapped his head in his direction when he heard that. He couldn’t remember the last time Edmund called him that. He pushed aside his shocked and replied, “Yes?”

“Thanks, for everything.” Edmund told him sincerely, doing his best to hold his brother’s gaze even though he was starting to feel embarrassed about the whole thing.

“Your welcome.” Peter told him, giving the younger boy a smile. Edmund returned the smile, then closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep. Peter stared at him for a few minutes, then checked to make sure that his sword was right by him so he could grab it quickly if need be before he also succumbed to sleep. What neither of them realized was that in a few short hours, they would be awoken by a dryad with the news that Aslan was dead.


	4. Revival

War had been on Edmund’s mind for a while. How could it not be with his home being in the middle of one and his father being called to join the others called to fight? But he never thought that he would actually be in one, especially not at his age. And yet, he was here in a magical country, about to be in a battle with strange creatures against an evil witch. And leading them was none other than his brother instead of Aslan.

When he and Peter were woken up early that morning by the dryad with the news that Aslan was dead, neither of them knew what to think. They quickly got up to tell Oreius and to see for themselves if the Lion was really gone. Edmund didn’t think it was possible, but his guilt grew and became heavier when they found that the dryad was right. Aslan had been killed by the Witch. He had been wondering hours earlier what Aslan had promised the Witch in exchange for his life, but he never thought it would be that. He never thought that the King of Narnia would take his place.

Edmund didn’t really have time to think about that though, not when he saw Peter’s face as he looked at the map on the table outside Aslan’s tent. He looked so, lost. He had never seen his older brother look like that. For his entire life, Peter always seemed to know what to do, and was willing to take charge. Now, he looked like he was doubting himself. So, for the first time in his life, Edmund encouraged his big brother. He told him that he believed he could lead the army, that he believed in him. The look Peter gave him, questioning if he actually meant it, to which Edmund gave him a small nod, and just like that, as if that was all he needed to hear, his big brother took charge like the leader he was.

Before he knew it, Edmund was standing on the edge of a cliff with several Narnian archers, overlooking the other soldiers that were going to charge at the Witch’s army, the soldiers being led by his brother. Peter insisted that he stayed with the archers as far away from the actual battle as he could to keep him safe. While Edmund couldn’t deny that a small part of him was glad he wasn’t in the frontlines, he was scared enough even in his position, he did wish he was down there by Peter’s side. As terrified as he was, he wanted to fight alongside his brother and with the other Narnians against the Witch, wanted to stop her from hurting anyone else. But Peter was in charge this was where he wanted him so this is where he would stay.

It felt like hours before Edmund saw the griffin that was sent out ahead as a lookout for the Witch’s army returned. Then, he saw the army itself on the other side of the field of Beruna. It was so much bigger than he remembered it being back when he was in the Witch’s camp. It was more than double their own numbers. Would they even be able to defeat her?

He looked back down at Peter, just in time to his head turn in his direction. Despite the distance, he could see how uneasy, how worried, how scared he was and Edmund didn’t blame him. He was scared too. They were kids and here they were, about lead an army into a battle. But he did his best to look as brave as possible and gave him an encouraging nod. Peter still looked a little scared, but he did seem a bit more confident than before.

Everything after that happened faster than Edmund thought possible. The Witch sent out her first wave and Peter sent out the griffins. Then Peter led the Narnian army and met hers in the middle of the battlefield, and all Edmund could do was watch, until of course the Witch started to join the battle with the second half of her army. Then he got to yell ‘fire’ to one of the centaur archer’s, who then sent a flaming arrow at a phoenix that was on their side in an attempt to keep their enemies from reaching the battle. It didn’t do much through. The Witch simply used her wand to put out the fire that the magical bird made and joined the fight.

All of that seemed to happen in only two minutes. Before he knew it, the signal was given to draw the Witch and her soldiers to the rocks. That wasn’t a good sign. It meant that they needed help, but Edmund was more than willing to do anything to help his brother and help the Narnians. So he gave the order to start shooting their arrows at the enemies running right towards them. It was then that he watched the unicorn Peter was riding get hit with an arrow and stumble to the ground, throwing his brother down in the process.

Edmund felt like all air had been forced from his lungs at the sight of his big brother lying flat on the ground. He had no protection, didn’t even have his helmet on anymore, was an open target for any of the Witch’s soldiers and there wasn’t anything he could do about it. For all he knew, the fall had actually killed Peter. But then he saw him start to move, start trying to get back up, but Edmund still couldn’t breathe. Peter was still so vulnerable and was moving slowly. Then, he saw Oreius and the rhino start charging right at the Witch’s army, giving Peter the time and cover he needed to get back to his feet and Edmund was able to breathe again.

There was no staying out of the fight after that. Drawing the enemies to the rocks had helped lower the Witch’s numbers, but not by much. They needed help, so Edmund, and the others that were staying back along with the archers went to their aide. Edmund did the best he could but he only had one day of training. He barely knew what he was doing. So what he did was attack the foul creatures that had their backs to him so that cutting them down was easier and helped the Narnian soldiers that were fighting them. It was working pretty well until he heard a voice calling out his name.

“Edmund!” He quickly cut down the creature he was fighting at that moment and turned to face Peter who was about ten feet away when he heard him yell. Without his helmet, Edmund could clearly see his older brother’s face as he shouted, “There’s too many! Get out of here! Get the girls, and get them home!”

Before Edmund could even process what Peter just told him, Mr. Beaver grabbed his hand and said, “You heard him! Let’s go!”

Despite not wanting to leave Peter behind, Edmund allowed the beaver to lead him up the hill and away from the battle. He knew deep down that the odds of Peter and the rest of the Narnians surviving this war with the way it was going was not good. He knew that his big brother also would not abandon them, would stay until the end and Edmund wanted to as well, but Peter was trusting him to find Susan and Lucy and get them out of here and he couldn’t let him down, not after doing that so many times before.

As they reached the top of the hill, Edmund looked down over at Peter, wanting to make sure that he was alright and was still fighting. That’s when he saw the White Witch walking straight towards him, holding her wand tightly in her hand. Immediately, he grabbed his sword and pulled it out of its sheath. There was absolutely no way he was going to let her anywhere near his older brother, not if he could help it.

“Peter said get out of here.” Mr. Beaver said when he saw that Edmund had pulled out his sword and was getting ready to go back to the fight.

“Peter’s not king yet.” Edmund reminded him, then took off running.

Ignoring the rest of the fighting around him, Edmund kept going as fast as he could until he reached a small ledge that stuck out right near where the Witch was. With a shout, he jumped off with his sword outstretched, aiming to strike at her wand. His shout however, gave him away and the Witch pulled her weapon out of the way and turned to face. For a minute, they stared at each other, both with hard glares on their face. Then, the Witch went to use her wand on him but Edmund turned to the side and brought his sword down on her wand, breaking it into two.

There was a bright blue glow around it as it broke and the Witch looked so stunned that she didn’t move and neither did Edmund. He didn’t really know what to do now and so he waited for the evil, fake Queen to make the next move and he didn’t have to wait long. She went to attack him with the sword in her other hand and he quickly blocked it, unaware that by doing so, he left his side open and she stabbed him with her broken wand.

He gasped in pain and shock, dropping his sword as both hands instinctively went to his injury. It felt like ice and fire were both running through his body and it was agonizing. All the sounds of the fighting faded away as his heart pounded in his chest and his ears. The Witch glared at him, hate and disdain covered her face before she pulled what was left of her wand out him and he fell to the ground.

Everything turned to black after that. Edmund couldn’t see anything, couldn’t hear anything, couldn’t even think of anything besides the pain in his abdomen and getting air into his lungs. It was like he couldn’t breathe at all and yet he must be because he would’ve passed out by now if he wasn’t, right? It felt like hours had passed already and he just wanted it to stop. Every small movement he made just made the pain worse. The ice-fire was flooding his entire body so badly that just trying to breathe hurt.

Suddenly he could feel hands lifting his head, placing it on some kind of pillow or something. Then there were fingers fiddling with the strap under his chin that kept his helmet on his head and it then it was gone. At the same time as that, he felt a hand on his arm, squeezing it tightly but he had no idea who it was. Had no idea who had taken his helmet off, had no idea who was now with him and he couldn’t really bring himself to care. All he wanted was the pain to stop.

Then, Edmund felt something warm drop into his mouth. It ran down his tongue to the back of his mouth and he instinctively swallowed. It tasted so sweet and seemed to calm the pain. He felt his body relax and go limp as the warm, whatever it was, ran through his body, chasing away the ice-fire that was there before. He could feel his heart stop pounding so hard and could now hear something. It sounded like crying. Someone was crying, but why?

He then started coughing, only now realizing that while that was all happening, he had stopped breathing. He then opened his eyes, not knowing when he had closed them in the first place. There, right above him, his saw Susan’s face looking down on him. There was a tear running down her cheek but when she saw him looking at her, she smiled and ruffled his hair. It must’ve been her that took off his helmet and if he was right, his head was on her lap, not a pillow.

Glancing over at his right side, Edmund saw Lucy, holding a crystal bottle filled with a red liquid in her hand. There were more tears in her eyes and on her cheeks than Susan but a smile was also now appearing on her face. It was probably her crying that he heard. Then he looked over at his left and saw Peter, his face and eyes red, filled with unshed tears. The expression on his face was more confusing. It was like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing but was hoping that it was real. The sight of all of his siblings, alive and unhurt, brought a smile to Edmund’s face.

Then, Peter, still holding tightly to his arm, grabbed his shoulder with his other hand and pulled up and into his arms. Edmund immediately returned the embrace, sensing that his older brother really needed this right now and if he was being honest, he did too. He didn’t know what had happened after the Witch stabbed him, had no idea why it felt like the wound was suddenly gone, or where Susan and Lucy showed up but he was certain that he did almost die. And that scared him a lot more than he would ever admit.

After about a minute, Peter suddenly pulled away and with his face still a bit red, tears still in his eyes and a bit of a choked-up voice he asked, “When are you going to do what you’re told?”

Edmund could only smirk at the question. He would’ve thought that by now Peter would know that he was probably never going to do what he was told, not when he thought there was something more important than whatever he was told to do. Peter didn’t look angry though which was a nice change. Usually when he asked that, he was so mad and frustrated by Edmund’s lack of following orders but he was actually smiling right now.

Apparently not needing an actually answer, Peter hugged him again and this time, Lucy and Susan joined in. Edmund could not remember at all being hugged by all of his siblings at the same time. It made him feel loved, warm, and safe and he relished in it. The battle was over, from the looks of it. The Witch must’ve been destroyed and he, and his siblings were alive. They survived and they won the fight. It was over.

**NARNIA**

Due to how long the battle had taken, how long it took to help all the soldiers that were hurt or turned to stone and how long it took to cremate the fallen soldiers, those that remained of Aslan’s army returned to the pavilion to spend the night and tomorrow, they would head to Cair Paravel. Edmund was glad that they didn’t leave that night. Some of the talking animals seemed like they wanted to, were eager to have their new Kings and Queens, but he was so tired after the battle. Even though Lucy’s cordial his injuries, the ones from the fight and the ones he got when he was the Witch’s prisoner, he was still a bit sore. He tried his best to help his siblings and the other soldiers with their tasks, but with the aches and his now very protective older brother and sister, he didn’t do much.

When Lucy left to go help those that were injured, Peter, after making sure that Edmund was alright, went with her. Edmund wasn’t sure if his brother really wanted to though. If the roles were reversed, he knew he wouldn’t really want Peter out of his sight either, but Peter knew there could still be followers of the Witch in the area and the last thing anyone wanted was Lucy suddenly being attacked by them.

While they did that, Susan led Edmund to where some of the other soldiers were gathering, awaiting orders. Aslan, who’s presence confused him before Susan somewhat filled him in on what happened, told them to gather the wounded into an area to make it easier for Lucy and for any medics to help them. He also gave orders for funeral pyres to be prepared for the brave soldiers who lost their lives in the battle. Edmund quickly jumped up to help with Susan practically glued to his side.

That night, after a small ceremony and the cremations for the fallen soldiers, they had a feast in celebration of the White Witch’s defeat. Now, it was past midnight and Edmund was still awake. He could hear others outside his tent, also apparently still awake, but it didn’t sound like there were a lot. Everyone was tired out from the battle, and yet, he could not fall asleep. He almost died today. He had been an actual battle, had been stabbed and almost died. If it hadn’t been for Lucy, he would’ve. And then, after helping the other wounded, Aslan called him over and knighted him there on the battlefield. He was now a knight of Narnia and tomorrow, he would be crowned King alongside Peter and Susan and Lucy would be crowned Queens of Narnia and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

He was a traitor, there was no doubt about that. True, he was now completely loyal to his family, to Aslan and to Narnia, but he had still betrayed them all, even if he was unaware of what exactly he was doing. Why would they allow a traitor on the throne? He did have his siblings’ and Aslan’s forgiveness but that didn’t just erase what he did, did it? And not only that, the Witch promised to make him a king if he did what she told him to. He didn’t want that anymore, not if it made him desire it so much that he’d do anything to have it. Then there was the fact that he was only ten. Wasn’t he too young to be a king?

A loud sigh had Edmund’s head turning to look at Peter who was lying in his hammock on the other side of the tent. He had assumed that he was asleep, but could now see that Peter’s eyes were open. The blonde then looked over at him and said, “Can’t sleep either?”

“No. Too much on my mind.” Edmund answered. Peter nodded as he averted his gaze and said, “Me too.”

They were both silent for another minute or two before Peter asked, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Edmund replied, trying not get annoyed. He knew he had terrified his siblings; he’d be scared too if he saw one of them get stabbed and almost die, but it felt like was someone was asking him that every five minutes.

“You sure?” Peter then asked, apparently not convinced.

“Lucy’s cordial fixed me right up Pete. I’m okay, just tired.” Edmund responded, hoping he sounded reassuring instead of frustrated. Peter nodded, but didn’t stop watching him and still had a worried expression on his face. Instead of letting his annoyance get the best of him, the dark brunette closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep.

“What were you thinking Ed?” Edmund snapped his eyes open when he heard Peter’s question.

“What do you mean?” The younger brother asked though he had a feeling he knew exactly what his older brother meant, especially when he saw that Peter’s worried expression had turned to one of anger.

“What were you thinking when you decided to go fight the Witch? She already almost killed you before the battle. Why on earth would you go face her, especially when I told you to go find Susan and Lucy and go home?” Peter explained his question, his voice also angry but Edmund could hear a scared undertone in it.

Edmund turned his gaze to the ground. He waited for a moment, wondering if he could answer, but knowing Peter probably wouldn’t stop until he got one, he quietly said, “She was going after you.”

“What?” Peter didn’t seem to understand what he was talking about.

“When I got up the hill with Mr. Beaver, I saw the Witch. She was going right for you. She was going to turn you to stone. I couldn’t let her do that. I couldn’t let her hurt you, couldn’t let her hurt anyone ever again.” Edmund told him, still keeping his eyes on the ground.

“Edmund.” Peter called out, trying to get his little brother to look at him, but Edmund didn’t move a muscle. He didn’t really know what else to say to what he had just been told. He hadn’t even noticed that the Witch was coming towards him during the battle. While he never wanted his little brother to die, even if it was for him, the realization that Edmund was willing to die for him actually gave him a warm feeling inside. Due to how strained their relationship had been over the last several months after their Dad left, Peter started to wonder, and fear, if Edmund had begun to hate him. Now he knew that he was wrong.

Seeing that Edmund was still staring at the ground and had a pained expression on his face, worry filled his stomach again. Watching him closely, he said, “Ed?”

“She threw me in the dungeon when I got to her castle. The whole place was made of ice and was freezing cold. Then, when the sleigh got stuck, her wolves came with a fox. I guess he was helping Aslan gather troops or something.” Edmund suddenly found himself saying, still not looking up at his older brother, shivering slightly at the memory of how cold he had been in the Witch’s dungeon and his eyes beginning to fill with tears at the thought of the fox frozen in the middle of the woods. He wasn’t exactly sure why he was telling Peter this and why now. He had been planning on never telling anyone what happened when he was with the Witch, but it just came out and he didn’t think he could stop.

“She was going to turn him to stone, because he wouldn’t tell her where you all were going. But I got in front of him and told her that you were going to the Stone Table. I thought if she had her answer, she’d leave him alone, but she didn’t. She still turned him to stone and the hit me if not telling her earlier.” Peter’s blood began to boil at the thought of someone hitting his baby brother but before he could even think of something to say to that, Edmund continued.

“When she made her camp and her army started to arrive, she had her dwarf tie me to a tree. I could hardly move at all, and I couldn’t say anything because they gagged me.” Edmund’s hand suddenly touched the corner of his mouth, still somehow feeling the cloth around his face even though it wasn’t there anymore and hadn’t been there for a while. Once he made sure that it was still gone, he finished the story.

“Her dwarf was going to kill me, actually had a knife to my neck, but before he could, Oreius and the others arrived and saved me.”

Peter had no idea what to say once Edmund had finished talking. He wasn’t sure if Ed would ever tell him what all happened when he was the Witch’s prisoner and if he was being honest, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know. He had his brother back, all of his siblings were safe and they defeated the Witch. He wanted to leave everything that happened in the past in the past. However, he knew that it wasn’t that simple. Everything Edmund went through wouldn’t just disappear as though it never happened.

Edmund still wasn’t looking at him and the only thing that Peter could think of to say was, “We can tell Aslan about the fox. I’m sure he’d go help him.”

“Yeah.” Edmund agreed with a quick nod of his head, yet still wouldn’t meet his eyes. While that might have made the younger Pevensie a little glad, knowing that there was something that he could do to help the poor animal, it was clear that that wasn’t what he needed to hear.

“Edmund, what happened wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know what you were doing.” Peter then said, trying to get him to believe that though he had a feeling that he would have to repeat it.

“No one forced me to do what I did Pete. I made my choices, and I deserved what I got. I deserve worse.” Edmund’s voice grew quieter at that last sentence and Peter saw a tear starting to run down his cheek. Immediately, Peter got up out of his hammock and walked over to Edmund.

“No you don’t Ed.” Peter told him as he crawled in beside Edmund, who had slid backwards a little to make room. Wrapping his arms around the smaller and shaking figure, he said, “You were tricked. You didn’t deserve any of that.”

At that point, Edmund was silently sobbing so he didn’t say anything. Peter just held him and let him cry. Even when the shoulder of his shirt became wet with his brother’s tears and his left arm, the one that the Witch had stabbed when she pinned him to the ground in the battle ached, he stayed still. The only move he made was rubbing Edmund’s back comfortingly as he cried.

When he had calmed down a little, Peter quietly said, “Ed, we forgive you. Me, Susan, Lucy, Aslan and the other Narnians forgive you. You need to forgive yourself too.”

Edmund took a deep breath before replying, “I don’t even know why the Narnians want me as their king. I betrayed them.”

“Maybe, but again, you didn’t know what you were doing. You aren’t that person anymore. And Ed, you saved them. If you didn’t break the Witch’s wand, we probably would’ve lost by the time Aslan got there.” Peter responded, leaving out that the battle was pretty much lost before Aslan and the reinforcements arrived. There was no need for Edmund to know how close the Witch actually got to killing his older brother in spite of his efforts to stop her or the fact that the sword that was used to stab his arm and keep him stuck on the ground was Edmund’s own sword.

Still keeping a tight hold on him, Peter added, “I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but I do know that you won’t be remembered as a traitor because you aren’t anymore. You’re going to be known for something bigger, something better.”

When Edmund stayed silent, Peter looked down and saw that his eyes were closed and his face, red from crying, had relaxed and his breathing was evening out. He was almost asleep. With a smile, Peter closed his own eyes and fell asleep right there with his brother in his arms.


	5. Remembrance

Peter tossed and turned on the bed, trying to get comfortable so he could go to sleep, but he couldn’t. He had no idea how he had been able to sleep on this mattress before. Compared to his bed in Narnia, if felt like he was sleeping on the ground in the woods with rocks and branches digging into his back. Actually, he had done that and that was more comfortable than the bed. Even if he was able to get comfortable, he doubted he would be able to sleep though. His mind wouldn’t stop racing. So much had happened in the last several hours.

Just this morning, he awoke as High King Peter the Magnificent of Narnia. Now, he was going to sleep as Peter Pevensie, 13-year-old boy from London. How did this all happen? How could he age 15 years, become an adult, a ruler and come home as though he had only been gone a few minutes? It just didn’t make any sense. And how could he go back to being a kid after being a man? Already he almost snapped at Mrs. Macready for getting mad at him and his siblings and treating them like the children they are instead of the respected rulers they used to be.

The sound of someone shifting in the bed only a few feet away had Peter opening his eyes and turning his head. Edmund, who he thought was asleep, was apparently awake and was getting out of bed. Peter didn’t really think much of it, figuring that he was going to the bathroom, but instead of going to the door, Edmund went to the mirror. He couldn’t really see what he was doing or what he was looking at, but it almost looked like he was looking at his stomach or something.

“What are you doing Ed?” Peter asked, causing Edmund to jump in surprise before he turned to look at him.

“I thought you were asleep.” Edmund said, not answering his older brother’s question.

“No, I can’t. Too much on my mind.” Peter confessed, glancing away from Edmund’s face.

“Me too.” Edmund admitted, also looking away, focusing his sight on an old stain on the wooden floor.

Still wanting an answer, Peter pushed himself up into a sitting position, he repeated his question, “What are you doing?”

For a minute, Edmund didn’t say anything. He turned around to face the mirror again, then mumbled, just barely loud enough for Peter to hear, “They’re gone.”

“What’s gone?” Peter asked, now completely confused.

“My scars, all of them. They’re all gone.” Edmund revealed, his hand going over the spot where, for 15 years, the scar from the White Witch’s wand had been. He hadn’t noticed at first, didn’t even think about it. But when he got dressed for bed, he noticed that a scar that was on his arm that he got from one of the many battles they fought against the Northern Giants was gone.

Peter stared at him for a few seconds, then pushed the sleeve of his shirt away and looked at his collarbone. He had gotten hit with an arrow by one of the few remaining dwarfs that were loyal to the White Witch only a year or so into their reign which left a scar. It wasn’t there anymore. So not only did they arrive back in England the same minute they left, and went back to the same age, the evidence of the injuries they got, evidence the battles and wars they fought was also gone, as though they never happened.

“I guess that makes sense. They happened in Narnia, not here, so they wouldn’t have happened to you.” Peter surmised, thinking it over. When he turned his attention back to his brother, he saw that Edmund had walked over back to his bed and sat down.

“What’s wrong?” Peter asked, seeing the downcast expression on Edmund’s face. Edmund however, stayed silent and kept his head lowered.

“Ed? Talk to me. What’s wrong?” The blonde pushed for answers, growing worried at the raven-haired boy’s silence.

Slowly and quietly, Edmund asked, “Do you think that, that I’ll end up, going to back to how I was before we went to Narnia? That I’ll become that person again?”

“What?” Peter exclaimed in complete shock. He then immediately got up and went over to sit beside him as he said, “No, no Edmund, no. Why would you think that?”

“Because, we’re back here, as though no time had passed, as though nothing had changed. It’s almost like we were never gone, like none of that had even happened.” Edmund tried to explain as Peter put his hand on his back. When he heard that, Peter moved his arm to wrap it around Edmund’s shoulders and pulled him close.

“That doesn’t mean it never happened Edmund. It did. You are not the same person you used to be. You’re not.” Peter insisted.

Edmund wasn’t so sure about that. He had changed so much in Narnia, for the better he hoped. But now that he was back in England, at the same age he was when they left, what was to stop him from turning into the person he was before Narnia? He was a terrible person back then. He bullied Lucy, fought with Peter and Susan, with almost everyone he could. If every sign that they had been gone, that they had been in Narnia, how could he be sure that he wouldn’t start acting like that again? Already his memories of his time there were fading. What if he forgot everything, including everything that made him into the person he became while he was there? He didn’t even have to the scars to remind him what happened.

“Can you, will you help me, make sure that I won’t become like that again?” Edmund asked, sounding so small and scared, something that Peter hadn’t heard in years.

Holding on to him tightly, Peter said, “I will, I promise.”


	6. BONUS: Return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place during Prince Caspian, during the coronation. Hope you like it!

Edmund stood on a balcony in the Telmarine castle that overlooked the forest in the east. In the distance, he could see the ocean right at the horizon line. Behind him, he could hear the sounds of music, people talking and laughing as they celebrated the new King of Narnia who was crowned just hours earlier. He had been there celebrating with his siblings and the Narnians and Telmarines, but he soon grew tired of the crowds. He needed some peace and quiet, which he had hardly gotten ever since they got to Narnia.

1,300 years. That’s how much time had passed here since they left. He still couldn’t really believe it. He knew he should as he had known that time passed differently than it did in England but he never imagined it would be like this. Everyone they knew, all of their friends were dead. Narnia had been attacked and taken over by the Telmarines. So much had changed in the last thousand years in the magical country. So much had changed for the four of them in just one year as well.

Lucy handled the change the best. Though there were times she obviously missed Narnia, but she had faith that they’d come back and quickly relearned how life in England was. Susan took a little bit longer as she was used to getting so much attention and being listened to by everyone. After only a few weeks though, she understood that they were kids again and no longer royals and seemed determined to do what was right and be a proper young lady, almost pretending that they never went to Narnia at all. Edmund wasn’t sure how he handled it. He knew that he was a lot better than he was before, but that wasn’t saying much. Peter was the one who took it the worst.

He got into fights at least once a week. Fights that Edmund joined to help his brother and stop it. The oldest also pushed away his siblings and their parents. They were all worried about him but he wouldn’t talk. Then they ended up back in Narnia only to find that everything had changed. Peter immediately took charge but made bad decision after bad decision. He even seemed to consider actually freeing the White Witch and that hit Edmund harder than anything he had done before. How could his big brother, who always did his best to protect all of them do such a thing? Did he forget what happened when they first came to Narnia? Did he forget what she did to him?

Peter looked like he wanted to talk to him about it during the duel with Miraz, but Edmund quickly shut him up. That wasn’t the time to talk about it. Not when Peter thought he might actually die. He didn’t want to hear goodbyes. In fact, Edmund didn’t want to talk about the Witch and everything Peter had done at all, but he knew his brother would find him and bring it up.

“There are you.” Edmund turned to look over his shoulder and found Peter coming towards him, “What are you doing out here?”

“Just wanted some peace and quiet. I forgot how tiring those parties are.” Edmund told him, moving his gaze back to the woods in front of him. Apparently, Peter wanted to talk now.

“Me too.” Peter replied. He didn’t need to say it, Edmund already knew that it was the girls who enjoyed the parties and entertaining people. Peter however, being the High King usually had to make appearances while Edmund could usually get out of them.

The two brothers stood in silence for several minutes before the older one asked, “Are you alright Ed?”

“I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” The younger one responded, looking over at him with a confused expression. Peter however, had lowered his head to look down at the ground so he didn’t see it.

“It’s just, we never got a chance to really talk about, what happened in the How and,” Peter said very hesitantly, before Edmund quickly cut him off.

“I’m okay with that.”

Peter lifted his head at that and said with a shocked and slightly unbelieving tone, “Really?”

The Just King didn’t respond. Turning his head back to face the scenery in front of them, he wondered if there was a way he could get Peter to drop the issue. He really didn’t want to talk about how he had really been feeling during the year they were back in England when Peter was acting like a self-righteous prat. And he most definitely did not want to talk about how he almost brought back the White Witch. He didn’t talk about it with anyone and he never brought it up. He just wanted to forget the whole thing had ever happened.

“Edmund, I’m sorry.” Peter apologized, “I haven’t really, I haven’t been a good brother since we got back from Narnia.”

Edmund didn’t even try to deny that as he knew that Peter wouldn’t let him and that it was true. Instead, having already forgiven his older brother, he said, “It’s fine Pete.”

“No, it’s not.” Peter objected, “I was so busy wishing I could go back to being a King again that I didn’t realize how I was acting, how I was treating everyone around me.”

“If it makes you feel any better, you were still better than I was before we even came here the first time.” Edmund told him, turning his head to give him a slight smirk. Peter stared at him for a minute, then seeing that his younger brother meant it as a joke, he also smirked.

Then he dropped it, and his face turned serious again as he said, “I’m really sorry.”

“You said that already.” Edmund reminded him, not sure why he was repeating himself.

Peter lowered his head again and said, “I mean, about what happened at the How, with the Witch.”

“Oh.” Edmund responded, also looking down at the ground. He had thought that he had gotten away without talking about this.

“I, I was just, I don’t know what I was thinking. I don’t know if I even was thinking.” Peter told him, turning to face the woods that the balcony overlooked. He put his hands on the stone railing and gripped tightly. He had been doing his best to put that whole situation out of his mind, needing to concentrate on his duel with Miraz and the fight with the Telmarines, but now that he was thinking about it, he was furious and frustrated with himself. How could he ever even consider letting her come back? Why had he?

“I just pushed Caspian out of the way and then, and then, it was like,” Peter tried to find a way to explain how he felt at that moment, how her words seemed to enchant him.

“Like you were mesmerized? Like you couldn’t help but believe every word she said was the truth? Like she actually cared?” Edmund quietly finished for him.

“Yeah.” Peter slowly and sadly confirmed.

“I know that feeling.” Edmund whispered, just loud enough that Peter could only barely hear it.

Peter turned to look back at Edmund again, needing to look in his brother’s eyes so that he knew that he was serious, he said, “I’m really sorry Edmund. After you came back, I promised myself that I would protect and take care of you, and the girls. I promised I’d be a better brother, but ever since we got back from Narnia, I’ve been terrible.”

Edmund, meeting his brother’s gaze told him, “Peter, I understand what was going on. We all did. We were all struggling after we got back to England.”

“I still should’ve been better.” The blonde muttered.

“You can’t do anything about it now. What’s done is done.” Edmund told him, using the words Aslan himself said years ago, “All you can do, is do better going forward.”

Peter stared at him for a few seconds, then asked, “When did you get so wise?”

“Probably back when I was older.” Edmund answered with a slight smirk, causing Peter to chuckle.

A minute later, Peter’s face turned serious again and he said, “Thank you, Ed. For still being by my side, despite how I was acting. For still following me.”

“There you two are.” A cheerful voice suddenly cut in. The two kings turned to find Lucy rushing over towards them excitedly. Reaching them, she asked, “Aren’t you going to join the celebration?”

“We’re coming Lu.” Peter told her with a smile. However, a suspicious look came on her face and she stared at them. Soon she realized that she had interrupted something important, and with a nod, walked back into the castle and back to the party.

Once she was gone, Edmund took a step closer to the blonde and said, “Peter? You are my King, and before that, you are my older brother. I will always be by your side, and will always follow you.”

Peter was speechless. He knew that Edmund was completely loyal to him, but that was back when he was High King, back when he deserved it. Hearing that his little brother was still on his side filled him with both guilt and gratitude. Edmund then smirked and added, “Unless of course, you are really being an idiot, in which case I will whack you on the head and tell you to smarten up.”

Laughing, Peter said, “I’m glad.”

Before Edmund could make any protest, Peter walked over to him and hugged him tightly. Edmund stiffened in surprise, but was quick to hug him back. Peter then pulled away and said, “Come on, before Lucy and Susan both show up to drag us back.”

**Author's Note:**

> I’m ending this chapter here because I actually like the fact that no one knows, not even C.S. Lewis knew, what was said between Aslan and Edmund. Some things should just be private. Next chapter will be about Edmund reuniting with his siblings. Hopefully I will have it done soon. Hope you guys liked this chapter!


End file.
